Of Shards and Worms
by WulfBerg
Summary: A young man decides to do a Worm CYOA. He wishes he didn't. (Version 5 Update Gimel)
1. Chapter One: Of Merchants and an Idiot

**I'm not dead! I wanted to get this out of my head. Also, dont worry about RZX, I'm just stuck in a writers block.**

The world twisted around me in a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes of all sizes. Twisting and turning, whipping around and flowing smoothly. My head felt like it was going to burst, explode into nothing when it stopped, and I found myself face down onto hard ground.

I took a few minutes to let my mind recover from whatever that was. My mind calmed down, and I began to think of how I ended up here. It didn't take long, a second, in fact.

I started to panic. I was doing the Version 5 Update Gimel Work CYOA, as I was bored and wanted to write a fic like Abbadon Borne (good fic, by the way),and wanted to jump on the popular (ehh…) CYOA train. I had just finished and was starting to type when everything went _kaleidoscope_ -

I stopped right there. My head hurt, and I didn't want to remember. Using my memory, I called up my choices. If my memory serves me right, I chose Nanotechnology, Power Sight, and Unlimited Shard Works for my powers; Negentropy, Noctis, Secret Lair, Blindspot, and one Second Trigger for Perks; Humble Beginnings, Endbringer Target, and Slaughterhouse 9 and Case 53 as my drawbacks. Shit! If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn't hav done any of this!

The problem was I didn't have any powers! I gave myself Humble Beginnings for the points! I don't want to suffer! I'M ONLY FUCKING 15! WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ME FOR THIS!!!

I calmed down and started to breath. I stood up, and surveyed the alley. Why wasn't I in my base? I dunno. The walls around me were covered with graffiti, picturing different gang logos. He ground was covered with trash and liquids, along with a dead person. I pat my pockets, pulling out a wallet with a few hundred dollars, and my phone. Said phone couldn't connect or call my family, which makes sense as I'm in another dimension. I pulled up Google Maps, which thankfully worked, and typed in Secret Lair.

It showed up. For some reason, Google Maps had my Secret Lair on it, in fact, it was only a few blocks away in another alley. I walked out, following the directions until I reached the alley where my base was. Suddenly, something grabbed my shoulder, and spoke.

"Hey… Ain't that some nice phone. Would you explain what you doin' here, boy?"

I turned around. A skeleton of a man, with dark hair and crazy eyes. His teeth were black and I could smell the rot. Behind him were to others, looking the exact same.

"Just w-walking." I stuttered. I could tell my face was pale. He smiled.

"Then you must not know. This is Merchant territory, and you gotta pay a fee if you wanna go by."

"H-how much?"

He smiled. A very smelly, dangerous smile.

"Everything." My eyes widened, and ran the other direction. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and I fell, pain shooting through my leg.

"Well boys, looks like we got a runner. Jeremy, get his phone and money. Steve, grab the stuff. The good ones."

He walked and crouched besides me.

"See kid? This would be a lot easier if you just gave us your stuff." A syringe was given to him, full of something I didn't want. "Now, you look like a good, strong kid. The Merchants could use you. Here, this won't hurt a bit."

The needle started approaching my hand. No no no no! I don't want this! I don't-!

 ** _Two starry beings swim through the void, twisting, turning around each other, before coming to a blue orb._** ** _A golden light comes from nowhere, sending one of them down, and the other comes for it, fragments-Shards,-falling away. A third one watches from a far, four Shards being sent forth towards the orb_**.

 ** _[Trajectory?]_**

 ** _[Agreement.]_**

 ** _[Purpose?]_**

 ** _[Agreement.]_**

 ** _[Excited.]_**

 ** _[Agreement.]_**

-want this to happen! My eyes widened, and I grab his hand twisting it with a good crack as he screams in pain. Standing up, dispite the PAIN in my leg, I grab the nearest one, Steve, as he is the one with the drugs. I grab him around the waist and pull him around me and over my shoulders before slamming his down against the ground, causing him to lose consciousness quickly.

I snap my eyes towards Jeremy and dive at him, knocking him down where I precided to slam my foot into his face before, like Steve, goes K.O.

I look towards the last one just in time for him to use his gun and hit me in the left shoulder, but only a dull pain came from it. Huh, adrenaline must be pumping.

I duck under him as he attempts to use the handgun as a melee weapon, and I uppercut him with right arm. That's enough to make him unconscious. I grab my stuff from Jeremy, and slump to the ground. I can tell my adrenaline is wearing off soon, so I rip off a piece of cloth off my shirt and wipe some of the blood off before wrapping it around my leg and pulling it as hard as I can, and do the same with my shoulder.

I grabbed my phone and dial 911. If my phone has Google Maps, it can call 911.

 _"911, what's your emergency?"_

"I just jumped by a few guys, I took them out, but one managed to shoot me. Can you send someone to help? The adrenaline is wearing off."

 _"Yes sir. We will be right there immediately. Please hold on."_

Within a few minutes, ambulance sirens make my way into my ear, and a few people start running down the alley and take me towards a vehicle. I felt drowsy, and I sat there with them while they exchanged my wrappings for better ones, the blood starting to seep out.

After a few minutes, a young girl walked in quickly, and asked, "Do I have permission to heal you?"

Something about that line felt familiar, but I nodded. She grabbed my hand, and some flickered on. The surroundings went a bit dark, with a red and white halo of flames dancing around the girls head. I felt something connect and I understood.

This girl was Panacea, and I had just copied her power.

 **They CYOA, for those of you who wish to know.**

 **Setting** **: Gestation (15 to both)**

 **Path: Villain (1 point to any drawbacks)**

 **Origin: Drop-In (3 to both)**

 **Civilian Identity: No Identity (2 Blue)**

 **Costume: Custom (-4 blue)**

 **Skills: Martial Arts (-4 blue), Parkour (-2 blue), First Aid (-3 blue)**

 **Shard: Foreign Element (-3 to both)**

 **Perks: Blindspot (-3 blue, -4 red), Negentropy (-5 to both), Second Trigger (-4 blue, -3 red), Secret Lair (-2 blue), Noctis Cape (-1 red**

 **Flaws** **: Slaughterhouse 9 (5 blue, 3 red), Endbringer Target (4 blue, 5 red), Humble Beginnings (6 to both), Case 53 x1 (2 red)**

 **Gifts: Payoff**

 **Powers: Unlimited Shard Works (Second Trigger) (-7 red), Power Sight (-1 red), Nanotechnology (-10 red**

 **Path** **Specifics: Other, Money** **(-3 blue)**

 **Chao!**


	2. Chapter Two: Of Tech and Nanites

**Warning, I don't own anything.**

I felt her entire body, every muscle, DNA strand, hair cells, everything. It was weird. Then see let go of me and it all disappeared. The sleepy feeling was gone, along with the pain. I felt refreshed, which was good.

"Thank you…" I said in disbelief as I rolled my shoulder. No pain at all. That's good. See nodded, and left the vehicle. I looked at the EMT, and asked, "Can I go? My house isn't far from here."

"Yes, go ahead. Also, that was some very good first aid you performed on yourself."

I chuckled. "Thanks. One should at least learn basic first aid, especially in this town." He chuckled, and I left perfectly fine, maybe with a few torn and bloody clothes.

You know, I wonder why my skills didn't activate until I triggered. Weird, must be some CYOA thing.

I wait to see the police and ambulance leave before heading back into the alley. This time, I didn't run into anybody. I went the the very back and counted three bricks up, and pressed the third brick with my left hand.

In all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing. So, I felt really surprised when the bricks pulled back to reveal a staircase downwards. I stepped down, watching as it close behind me.

The base was big. Pure white walls formed in the shape of a cube. A big couch with a coffee table, a few gaming systems, and a large TV. On the other wall was a kitchen and a table. It could seat around 7 people by the looks of it.

Five doors were on the wall in front of me. The first on read 'Rooms', the second 'Tinkering', 'Garage', 'Supplies', and 'Training'. It was much more fancy than anything I've seen. I loved it.

'Rooms', was, well, rooms. A long hallway with different places to sleep in. I then walked into the 'Tinkering' room, I could feel an itch to make something come up. Huh, so that's what the tinker fugue felt like. The room had large machine in the corner that might be used for fabrication. Tools of all sizes lined the walls, just begging to be used, and that itch was growing stronger.

'Garage' was an empty space most likely for vehicles, 'Supplies' was self explanatory, and 'Training' was for training with both powers and weapons. Frankly, it was awesome.

I sighed. The itch had turned into and urge, and I went into the 'Tinkering' and started making shit. Somehow, Nanotechnology gave me a boost in drawing skills when I was making blueprints.

Soon enough, I had a blueprint. It showed a round ball with numerous lines and cylinders sticking out all around it. This was a simple Gamma Nanite, meant to replicate itself by consuming metal and being able to be formed into different shapes, like walls or swords. Of course, it needed a commander. Two, actually.

The Alpha and Omega nanite. Yes, I am pulling off some Generator Rex stuff here. Sue me, I like the show! Anyway, they had similar functions. Omega was the one to give orders to the Gamma Nanites on what to build and help shape it while Alpha was the one to order Omega to build and to store information, like how much nanites I have and was going to take off some of the load from me to help command the nanites.

After making those two, I put the Gamma, Omega, and Alpha nanite blueprints into the fabricator and grabbed some metal from the supply room.

After a few minutes, a glass vial with a G on it popped out. Then Omega, and then Alpha after that. Opening the vials O and A, I swallowed the liquid. I didn't want to use a syringe for obvious reasons. I felt a connection snap to the silver liquid in the vial grabbing another ingot, I poured on it and commanded them to eat. Within a few minutes, the ingot was gone and a larger puddle of silver was in its place. I smiled and watched it climb up my arm and transform into a silver gauntlet.

"Awesome. Well, I know where I'm going to get more metal and clean up this place. To the boat graveyard I go!" I hummed 'We're Off to See The Wizard'

Making the nanites move into my shirt, I remembered that said shirt was bloody and torn. I took it off and grabbed a spare shirt from 'Supplies'. Jesus, that room had everything!

I walked out of my base, noting it was late afternoon. I looked at the wall in front of me. With a quick series of jumps and twists I parkoured my way up the wall. I smiled.

"Hmm. Maybe this won't be so bad at all." I pulled up the boat graveyard on Google Maps and shifted the nanites to hold my phone on my arm, I started free running towards the docks.

I hummed 'We're Off to See The Wizard' the entire way.

By the time I got there, the sun had set and the moon had risen. I commanded the nanites to release my phone and start eating the boat in front of me.

The boat had rust all over it and the paint had peeled off long ago, along with its name. I released the nanites and they started consuming the boat to make more of themselves to consume the boat, so that meant as time went on, the consuming process would become faster.

I was bored. It has been about an hour since I started deconstructing the boat and all I have is a hole the size of a door. The nanites take around ten minutes to create a copy, and I now I have around 3,067,899,683 nanites. Remember, these things are super small. Jesus, how could I forget…

Wait, what?

 _*BOOM!!!*_

Before I could complete that line of thought, a large explosion could be seen a few miles away. Calling my nanites onto me, I started running towards the explosion. I looked down at my legs, as I got a lot more than expected. Before it covered my entire hand and a little above my wrist, it now covered the entirety of my waist down. Man, I got a lot more than expected. It should be enough to make a basic shield.

Using the nanites along with my Parkour skills I made it to the site of the explosion in just under five minutes. On the other side of the street was a silver half-dragon man standing above a girl in dark armor.

Oh shit. Tonight was Taylor's debut. Oh shit, that's Lung.

"OH SHIT, THATS LUNG!"

 **Chao!**


	3. Chapter Three: Of Dragons and Armsdick

**Warning, I don't own anything.**

"OH SHIT, THAT'S LUNG!"

The said dragon-man whipped his head towards me. Aww crap, I said that out loud, didn't I? Then I jumped high with the nanites along my legs, just barely dodging a large blast of fire hit where I was just a moment ago.

' _Shit that almost hit me! Wait, I can't fly!'_

I looked towards the ground that was quickly coming up towards my face.

' _But I have nanites!'_

The silver liquid move from my legs to my back, where they wrapped around my torso and silver tentacles shot out and stabbed into the building behind me, breaking my fall. The tentacles quickly moved, dodging another blast of fire, Doc Oc style.

Lung had ramped up a good amount, and while it was hard to tell, he was still at least three times as big as Taylor/Skitter/Weaver/Khepri and I combined, along with being covered in scales and other draconic features.

"IL 'ILL OH!" The weird more-dragon-than-man roared, getting spit in my face. Suffice to say, I believed him, and was terrified. And then I stabbed him in the eye.

Lung was growing faster now, quickly growing bigger than his already ten feet tall stature, along with his flames getting stronger. I knew he would soon regenerate it his eye, but he still had another. So I stabbed him in the other eye.

Really bad idea man…

I didn't have time to dodge as a scaled hand whacked me towards the nearest building. The nanites formed a ball around me to prevent most of the impact, but I still felt my ribs break and the wind getting knocked out of me.

Taking a second and pulling myself out, the nanites wrapped around my torso and face once again. I still had my other powers, after all. I activated Power Sight, and watched as the world went dim. The Dragon of Kyushu halo was shaped in the form of a dragon eating itself, with said halo being made of silver and a bright crimson fire. It was pulsating, signaling that his power was active.

Yet, I couldn't copy his power. For some reason, USW wouldn't copy it, although it felt like Lung's power wasn't complete. Maybe he needed to finish ramping up? Yeah, no. I'm gonna wait, for another day to copy his power. Instead, I let my eyes be drawn to another.

Taylor is just a few yards away from me, just staring, though I could tell she was worrying. I pull myself out of the hole, and look at her halo. It looks like an ancient egyptian headdress, except made out of grey and yellow energy and had a dragonfly instead of a scarab on the front. Energy streams brushed out around us, as that was the her connections to her bugs. Now, this, I could copy.

Power Sight and Unlimited Shard Works work like one. USW copy's the physical powers, such as the bug control itself, and Power Sight does the mental stuff, like the _infinitely-scaling-multitasking_ she had. Yes, I could feel the swarm around us. With a quick pull of her/my power, I make them form 'Hello!'

The shock her body displayed is worth it. I gave the control back to her, but piggybacked off the senses. I'm glad I did that, because Lung was healed and bigger, badder, more dragonyer (?). But most importantly, throwing fire at us. I didn't have time to dodge, so I made my nanites form a wall. Just in time to, as they blocked a giant ball of fiery death from hitting us. God, am I glad I made them fireproof, but it won't last for long.

But now I had a plan. You see, the multitasking, along with the Alpha and Omega, I could now control every nanite individually. That also means more detail in my builds, for example I could make guns! Cars! Robots! But not right now.

I pulled a singular bug out of the swarm that was attacking Lung, and pushed some of the nanites onto it, creating a fireproof armor for it. I sent it out, through the fire and into is toothy maw. I released the nanites from the insect, watching it die instantly. I took hold of the nanites and formed them into a tiny dril, where it started burrowing into the body, closing in on the brain.

The wall of nanites was starting to fail, the heat causing them to start falling apart. I had to be fast. Moving the tiny nanites left in the eyes, the drill got to the brain with a couple extra nanites. It continued to burrow.

Lung roared, but this time in pain. I bet now he could feel the tiny robots drilling into his brain. The flesh was regenerating faster inside his head, so I had to be faster or the nanites would be crushed. The flames intensifies as the drill gets closer to the Gemma and Potenia. Then, it hits. The drill breaks through, just a little bit, but he collapses, and the fire stops instantly.

I let go of a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I got some of my surviving nanites to bring me down before eating the molten scrap that was their brothers, in order to make more. I touch the dragon, using Panacea's power to heal the wound I gave him, along with most of the toxins. Though I made sure to use a chemical to put him to sleep for the next few days. I climbed back up to the top where Taylor was.

"You okay?" I said, my voice cracking a bit. Damnit.

"Y-yes. Thank you for helping me." She said, albeit meekly. God damn it so cute!

I waved my hand. "No prob. If it wasn't for your insects, Lung wouldn't be knocked out." Any second now…

"He's right, you know." A third voice came in and I smiled. Right on cue for the Undersiders.

"Hello. So your the 'kids' Lung wanted to kill?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. I activated Power Sight. I saw her halo pulse as it activated, then bam! I got Sherlock Holmes upped to 11.

"You already know that answer." She said. I stare at her.

 _Knows what you did. Slightly terrified. Hasn't seen your face. Doesn't know you copied her power._

"You know, when we heard that Lung was coming after us tonight, we were pretty freaked out," Grue says, gesturing over at the knocked out Lung.

 _Terrified. Hasn't seen anyone take down Lung. Doesn't want to make you mad. Knows you did it. Doesn't know how._

"Yeah. I was also terrified. It's not everyday you meet a dragon!"

"Ain't that the truth? So we show up to the fight, a day of arguing only to settle on figuring it out when we met him halfway. Not my usual approach, but there wasn't much else we could do." Grue spoke, Tattletale oddly quiet.

"And instead of the whole might of the ABB, you had Oni Lee and a handful of guys, because bug girl and I were fighting him?"

"Yeah," Grue says, a faint note of relief I his voice, "Oni Lee isn't exactly Lung, but he's not a pushover. Thankfully, without Lung there, he wasn't willing to stay and fight."

Oni Lee, a cape who teleports via creating a clone elsewhere in his line of sight, before turning into ash. And it is creating a clone -- the original man died when he first used his power, and each time he uses it, it's creating a new copy that's missing ever so slightly more of what made him human. I feel sad for the poor man.

Grue takes a step toward the edge of the roof and leans out to take a look at the battle, "Holy shit, what the fuck did the two of you do to Lung?"

Did I mention I kept all the surface injuries? Because I kept all the surface injuries.

"Broken bones, wasp and bee stings, fire ant and spider bites, pepper spray, and tinker-tech to top it off," answers Tattletale for me, grinning as she turns around, "He's gonna feel a helluva lot worse when he wakes up tomorrow."

Grue turns back toward us. "Introductions. I'm Grue, the leader of our fine team."

"You mean like that monster in that one game? What was it called again?" I said.

"Zork." Was the answer from Tattletale. I nodded as thanks. Grue continues.

"The one on top of the dogs is Bitch, though the PRT calls her Hellhound, The blonde is Tattletale, our resident Thinker, and last and most certainly least, we have Regent."

"Fuck you too, Grue." The clownish cape said.

Schizoid. Acting with emotions. Feels oddly horny towards Weav- Ok, I don't need that.

"Well, we should probably give introductions as well. I am Ferox, and this is Weaver."

Taylor gave a confused cock of her head when I have them her future name. She looks like she is about to say something when Tattletale speaks up.

"Heads up, we've gotta go," Tattletale says before she turns and shouts to Bitch, who whistles for her dogs. One short whistle then two long whistles. A moment later, the massive beasts leap up onto the rooftop, where Bitch climbs up onto the back of one, before leading them back over to our rooftop.

Grue looks at the two of us, and with slight hesitation, then asks, "Hey, you two want a ride?"

I look over at Taylor, who looks at the nightmarish creatures and shakes her head, before turning back to Grue and shaking my head with a smile, "Thank you for the offer, but I've got my own."

Grue shrugs and mounts up on the same dog as Regent. Tattletale, meanwhile, seats herself behind Bitch, before turning back toward us.

"Hey, the two of you did us a favor, so a word of advice? A Protectorate cape is gonna show up in less than a minute, and if they find a group of bad guys fighting, they're not going to let any of them get away. The two of you should get out of here," she says, giving us a flash of her sly little smirk The Undersiders turn tail and flee before Armsmaster can arrive.

Not a second later, the Armsdick arrives on his motorcycle, which he then stabs the sleeping Lung with his halberd, presumably for the drug he made. Not that it would work, since I put him to sleep with Panacea's power. Not that he needs to know that.

Then I remember the truth detector built into his helmet.

Fuck.

I stand beside Weaver, facing where Armsmaster will most likely come up. Sure enough, a few moments later, the power-armored figure walks up. I switch on Power Sight.

His halo was a light blue and grey, looking as if it was made of hexagons. On the front of his halo was three grey arrows pointing inwards.

"You gonna fight me?" He calls out to us, halberd held at the ready in case we are. Not that we are anyways, but I put some of my nanites on his armor, just in case things get out of hand.

"If you attack first, then I will."

"No!"

There's an awkward pause as Armsmaster waits for his lie detector to finish processing, ending with him flatly announcing, "You're telling the truth."

"No, we're not here to fight you, we just took out Lung before you got here is all." I said casually. He seemed to ease up a bit at my answer. He then looks to the both of us.

"Are any of you injured? Do you need medical treatment of any kind?" He asks us with some concern in his tone.

"Yeah," I said, "I think he cracked a rib, but I've working on something to help heal it faster."

"Tinker?" He says, with a tad bit of excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, along with a minor Trump ability."

He accepts that as an answer and begins with, "Very well, then would any of you mind answering as to what happened here?"

"Alright then, what happened?"

We basically summed up our perspectives as to what happened tonight. Beginning with Weaver's point of view, as seeing how she was the first to encounter the pyrokinetic and his gang members. When Armsmaster asked why she went in alone and not call for help, she interrupted saying how they were already on the move and that she didn't have a cell phone on her to call the PRT or anyone for assistance. She then explained how she swarmed the entire place with bugs and all kinds of insects, and I took over, explaining that I was out and saw the explosion. You guys know what happened next.

"Have either of you considered the Ward program?" He says, "Especially for a Tinker like you. We have supplies, and Tinkers are the most sought out in this city." And there's the recruitment pitch!

"I've considered it before," Weaver answers, slowly and visibly uncomfortable, "I don't think it's for me."

"Same. I very doubt the gangs will be able to find me, let alone make me work for them." Armsmaster gives a reluctant nod.

"While I commend your efforts for Lung's capture, I feel that I must ask who's going to receive the credit." At our incredulous stares, he quickly added, "It's great that you've managed to accomplish what you did tonight, but I also feel that you need to be warned of the oncoming danger." You know, I imagine Armsmaster writing up a program to help him deal with talking to people.

"I know what you mean. Your worried about how the ABB will be coming for our blood as retaliation. Especially the likes of Oni Lee and Bakuda, correct?" I respond, and Halbeard nods.

"Wait, I've heard about Oni Lee, but who's Bakuda exactly?" I heard Weaver ask, and I answered her before Armsmaster could.

"She's a new recruit in the ABB, a woman who can build exotic sci-fi bombs and has an ego equal to the entire Uchiha clan combined and then some, working with Oni Lee, a teleporting suicide cape bomber." Weaver paled at what I said.

"You are correct on the threat that she poses due to her specialty. Now we have two options, the first option is that you take the credit, and have the entirety of the ABB against you, or let me take credit and not have them." I look towards Weaver, and she nods.

"No thank you. We will take the credit for his defeat."

"Very well." I smiled as I heard his teeth grit. Oh yeah. "I shall take Lung in. May I have your names to put into database?"

"My name is Ferox, and this is Weaver." I said, repeating what I said to The Undersiders earlier. He nods and grabs Lung and drives off on his motorcycle. God damn I want that.

"So... you probably know that I refused the Wards, but what about you?" I asked her, already knowing the reason. She looks at me for a bit, before she answered.

"Well, among other things, I don't want to be restricted in terms of my power usage, and the rest is mostly the teenage drama that I don't want to deal with." She said with certainty. I nod my head in understanding.

"Well, you are definitely right on the restrictions they place on your own power. But I'll ask, you know that while we won't be joining them, what do you plan to do instead?"

She seemed to be taken aback at the question before she thought about it and said, "I... I don't know, maybe go out as an independent? What about you though?"

"I am also considering going out as an Independent, but after what happened tonight, it might be better if we team up."

That seemed to to throw her off a bit, before she asked, "But why do you want me for a partner? In case you didn't notice, you are pretty much the reason we survived."

I snorted, then replied "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to get my nanites inside Lung. If anything, you are also half of the reason."

She looked down and shuffled her feet. I smiled.

"Besides, think of the possibilities! You could cover you insects with my nanites and make them stronger! A costume you can control with your mind! A secret base!"

She looked at me. "You have a secret base? You can do all of that?" I smiled, and nodded.

I held out my hand and said, "So what do you say to being the next best thing, Weaver?" she looked hesitant at first, but she then slowly brought out her hand and moved it towards mine, in which we then performed our handshake.

' _Woo! Suck it Armsmaster!'_

 **Yep. He/I just copied TT's power. Now, before you say anything, it was pretty obvious if you read Power Sight and USW's description.**

 **Chao!**


	4. Chapter Four: Of Costume and Wrong Times

**Here is the comment replies.** **duskrider** **: the sad thing is that I agree with you. I suck at writing personalities, so don't expect much.**

 **d4nte** **: oh, you will see. Especially in this chapter.**

 **lazydragon: Thanks!**

 **Here is the chapter!**

After that whole mess, Taylor and I went our separate ways. Now, back in my base I decided I needed some training, after I fixed my broken rib. The nanites worked well as a cast, but I needed something better. Drawing in some of the insects that got into my base, I began work on my newest tech.

The plan is to create a biological nanite that works similar to a cell as it does mitosis, and each cell would attach to another, making it stronger and work quicker. So it would give me a healing factor along with a stronger body and senses.

I used Panacea's power on the insects and transformed them into the cells, which I then ingested. While the cells got to work, I decided to start on my costume, which meant I needed more nanites. I sent the silver liquid back to the boat I was using before the fight with Lung.

It was sad that I couldn't sleep, and while I waited for my nanites to come back, I began to experiment with my other powers. Mainly, using Power Sight on myself. I pulled out a mirror from the supply closet.

"Huh, so that's where the Case 53 went."

My eyes. Instead of normal human ones, my pupils we're star shaped, with a white orb around it and a multicolored band around the white orb. I looked away from my eyes and at my power.

A large multicolored ring with si points sticking out. In this order: a red plus, a dragonfly, a magnifying glass, a cartoonish version of my eyes, a cartoon shard, and a silver or with tentacles. Aka: Panacea, Weaver, Tattletale, Power Sight, Unlimited Shard Works, and Nanotechnology. Also, my halo was huge, and on fire! I shut off PS and watched my eyes go back to normal. Well, normal-ish. My pupils is still star shaped, just smaller, along with my iris being gold.

"I need more powers."

Unlimited Shard Works had infinite potential, its only weakness a reliance on powera for it to work. i only had six powers. While they were some of the most powerful in canon, I'm not them. I need more powers, more _shards_. So, I made a list of those that I need the most. I grabbed some paper and began writing.

 **Most Important!**

Lung - Escalation

Crawler - Counter

Flechette - Sting

Contessa - Path to Victory

Chevalier - Destroyer

Dragon - Reversal

L33t - Proto

 **Would be Appreciated.**

Purity - Bright

Squealer - Travel

Skidmark - Zones

Uber - Proficiency

Kaiser - Blades

Alabaster - Refresh

Dinah - Oracle

The Wards - Warp, Survival, Modular, Freeze, Shifter

I put the pencil and paper down, having finished. The most difficult to copy would be Dragon, with Lung just behind. I had a theory on Lungs power, which put him pretty high. I believe I have to make him reach his limit to copy his power. And that meant letting him escape and forcing him to fight Leviathan. There are some which I can find right now. Alabaster is one, along with Squealer, Skidmark, and Shadow Stalker.

Of course, that will have to wait. My nanites just got back. Alright, time to create a costume! My name was Latin for wild, but it wasn't why I chose it. I enjoy the Fire Emblem series, especially Awakening. So, my costume is going to be based off their clothes, just more sci-fi!

The nanites start climbing up my bare feet, becoming dark grey boots. Up from there is combat pants, slightly baggy and all black. Going up is a silver coat, wrapping around my torso with its hood in my head. The chest armor is smoothed out, with soft blue lights lining the edges. My whole costume had a Chinese feel to it, kinda like Lon'qu's clothes.

And finally, the helmet. I went for a modified Grey Fox helmet. Instead of the red eye in the middle, to slits of blue light on either side represent the eyes. I pulled the hood up, making me look even more intimidating. Good for a Villain, and kinda for a hero. But I already chose villain as my path, so might just go ahead and do it. I can create another body if I so desired, using Panacea and Nanotechnology.

I keep my costume on me. What? I'm about to head out and nab the powers I can. Besides, I have more than enough nanites to fight with, especially with my bionites. Get it? Biological Nanites? Bah, your no fun.

So, I left my secret base once again, with an intent on finding the Merchants. And getting some sweet revenge...

They weren't hard to find. The problem was finding the right ones. All the ones I've encountered were not with a cape, or to high to do anything.

My most recent one was both. A high druggie with his friends. Still, I waited, in case a competent Merchant comes by. After waiting a few minutes, I turn to leave, but hesitate.

I'm glad I did, because in that second a dark misty figure started firing at the Merchants. I wouldn't be able to see them in the darkness without Power Sight.

Shadow Stalker's halo is made of a dark mist, bur bright enough to be seen from the rest of her body. It had the similar pulsing to it, just like Lung's and Weavers when we were fighting earlier. Without wasting a second more, I copy her Shard, her power.

In that second, I transform into a black mist and fall through the ground/roof I was on. I fell onto some people, who were awake and obviously Merchants.

"Shit! Cape!" One of the awake ones shout, pointing at me.

One of them shoots at me, only for it to pass through my still misty body. Black tendrils shoot out of my body, stabbing them in the leg and left shoulder, ad wrapping around the gun, before solidifying, stabbing them or removing an arm entirely. I yanked the gun towards me, where I shove it into my chest for th nanites to eat and copy.

More tentacles come out, grabbing one eho tried to escape an slamming him into the ground. I do same with the others execpt for the one who had the gun. I brought him closer to me.

"Where is Skidmark?"

"I ain't sayin nothin'!"

One of my tentacles turned into an axe, a nasty looking one at that.

"Where is Skidmark? Tell me or I'll cut your balls off."

"Wearhouse in the middle of our territory. You should be able to find it." He squeaked out. I smiled, and hit him on the head, knocking him out.

I stared towards the rest. I brought my hand down upon them, swapping their genders. I was feeling particularly mean today, and I had a reason to be. I drew my tentacles, execpt for two, back into my body.

I stabbed these two into a wall, and shot myself forward, turning into mist to pass through any obstacles. I did this many times until I reached the wearhouse spoken about.

I pulled my tendrils back and phased inside, before immediately going back out. Turns out, Squealer and Skidmark were currently going at it, pretty hard. I'll come back tomorrow. With any luck, they will be using their powers.

God damnit, came all this way for nothing...

 **Sorry for the short chapter.**

 **Chao** **! And Happy New Year!**


	5. Chapter Five: Copying and Tinkering

I headed back to my base after the night. I figured out how to create insomnia pills from flys. It was, to effective. I ate one with some water and instantly fell asleep. Welp, now I have one hell of a sleeping drug...

I woke up around noon, having missed the morning entirely. I called up my costume and headed back towards the Merchants warehouse I was last night. Thankfully, I found Squealer tinkering in a moterpool.

I switch on Power Sight. She has a rust colored halo with a stylzed tire in the front. I could see the tendrils connecting to the tech, probably doing their Space Whale/Shard bullshit. But what was coming up next was important.

I felt something snap into place, and a slow trickle of blueprints came into my mind, but with [Vehicles] and [Vehicular Weaponry] instead of Nanomachines.

I shifted into [Shadow] state, and phased out of the building before moving on to the next. Yep, there was Skidmark, who was currently high. I could tell because it was remarkably easy. They were Merchants, and he was throwing things around with his [Speed Zones].

What a careless waste of power. I copied it and went home, using the [Speed Zones] to get me there within minutes.

From there, I started on a new costume for Taylor. Well, less of a costume and more of a frame. And a mode of transportation! Yes, am making a motorcycle.

Turns out, I had plenty supplies in my storage area, but I didn't want to waste them. So I went back to the Boat Graveyard and ripped apart a few ships. By a few hours later, I had enough raw material to put through the fabricator.

I had taken some designs from Armsmaster's own bike. Sleek and thin, yet strong and with a black and gold color scheme. It also had the ability to transform itself into a suit, giving the user minor Brute and Mover abilities, or at least until I make it better. Jesus, I'm glad Squealer didn't make full use of her power.

While the parts fabricated, I decided to check out PHO, for seeing what it's like and posting the video of us beating Lung. I really didn't trust Armsmaster, not after the shit he pulled in canon. I edited the video on my phone, taking out he chunk where we met the Undersiders. I finished registering and putting the video up when a ding! came from the fabricator.

I put it all together, and created a fake mannequin. Pressing a button on the vehicle, I watched it fold over the body, with both wheels at the bottom, and the front covering the chest. The shoulders had small pauldrons, ad the arms were covered in gauntlets. Connecting all this armor together was a nanomech weave. The last part was a product of Nanotechnology. It would provide protection and increased strength. There would be some future modifications, but now it's perfect for a certain bug controlling Master!

After I finished that, I went to my new living room and started watching TV.

 **Chao** **! Small chapter again, but I wanted to get it out.**


	6. Chapter Six: Of Testing and Others

The Protectorate offered power-testing for all non-villainous capes, regardless of whether they were interested in joining. The downsides were that the Protectorate would probably come up with 10 different ways to take me down, along with the moles appearing that information to their bosses. The upsides were that I would be an officially registered 'Independent,' and I would have good relations with the Protectorate (something I definitely want to have.)'

By rooftop, [Speed Zones, [Mist Shift, and my tentacles, it took me three minutes to travel four miles to the edge of the bridge that lead to the Protectorate HQ. It was rather entertaining to walk past everyone who was passing by with them all looking at me, trying to see the new parahuman.

This was my first time seeing the Rig's forcefield from close up. From close up it was pretty much completely transparent save for a light blut twinge. It looked solid, but while having no depth threw me off the more I looked at it. We walked under a metal archway which made an opening in the forcefield, and entered the courtyard of the PHQ. I somewhat wondered if gas or air could pass through the forcefield, and how water was getting in from the bottom.

The building was even more stunning up close, but kinda useless out here in the bay.. The hundred-million dollar building really should be within the city proper, making easier to respond to threats. Sure, the Rig was capable of withstanding a siege from villains due to its missile turrets and forcefield, but no villains were stupid enough to attack the Protectorate. Well, save for the Slaughterhouse Nine, but they wouldn't care about it, with the whole 'the end is greater than the means' Cauldron had. I still wasn't sure whether or not I was going to kill Contessa, and become the sole owner of Path to Victory. I shook my head and walked inside and up to the front desk.

"Hello there, may I help you today?" The person there asked, putting up as non-confrontational a demeanor as possible. Possibly trying not to mess with the guy who beat Lung. I had no doubt the PRT knew and saw the video I posted.

"I heard that I can go through Power Evaluations at the PHQ, no? My place doesn't really have the tech nor space to accurately measure my powers." I asked. She blinked at my answer, most likely in surprise.

"I don't think anyone has done that in years," she said, before she started typing in something on her computer.

"Yes, we are all clear for today. Please wait here while we prepare the testing areas. One of our Capes will be her shortly."

I was greeted by Assault a few minutes later. I really liked Assault, despite him being a hypocrite most of the time. He was probably the brightest natural trigger out of all the hero's I knew. Though he did have his faults.

"Hello there Ferox, I am your guide for today to show you our wondrous building, and help you through the testing." He said in a faux British voice. We stepped into an elevator.

"This is a rather amazing building. How much did it take to build it? Why it isn't in the city? You could respond to threats faster there."

"I don't know how much it does cost, though the Protectorate can buy and make like 20 of these and barley make a dent in their vault," He replied, stroking his chin, "Yes, being in the city would help a lot, but it's not like we can move it now." Assault responded. The elevator opened and I was met with open air.

"So here is where we have the open air training areas, for more damaging powers and fliers. Do you know what you'd classify yourself as?" he asked.

"Tinker with a side of Trump. I can 'see' powers, though I refrain from using it in public for obvious reasons. I haven't made anything big yet, just some tentacles and a huge fist." I answered.

"Yeah, good idea not using it. Breaking the Unwritten Rules and all that. Come on, let's head downstairs." We took the stairs to the next floor down. The hallway was sandwiched between several basketball-court size rooms. The walls of the hallway seemed to be made primarily of glass, though it was probably tinker-tech.

"These are our general training rooms. We tend to use these for testing any kind of super-powered tech and stuff." The rooms were the first part of the building I had seen that didn't look impeccably maintained. They were littered with dents, scorch marks, and obvious patch jobs. I could tell that these rooms were used often, by many people.

"They're insanely durable, some of the guys have done some serious damage to the rooms and they're back in order in just a couple days," he commented when he saw me looking at fresh looking crater.

We skipped next three floors, as they contained housing and personal labs, but the next floor we stopped was the gym. I was surrounded on all sides with high-tech equipment, and enough free weights to bury the Hulk and not let him get out. The amount of variety was unbelievable, hell some of these machines probably worked out muscle groups that weren't known yet. My jaw dropped at the sight.

"Yeah, everyone has the same reaction the first time," Assault chuckled from behind me, "The equipment here is made for people who can perform far above human limits. None of the non-capes are actually allowed to use this gym, so you never really have to worry about the fact that there's only one of these things." He explained. I could certainly understand. "We've got a lap pool on the opposite side. Only three lanes, but we've never really seen the need for any more. The track is on the rooftop." Assault continued and finished.

The next floor down was obviously the recreation area. It was rather nicely set-up, with couches, a TV, a pool table, table tennis, and more, but it looked like it had been barely used. Most of these people had lives outside of their work, and probably wanted to spend as little time as necessary at the Rig, except Armsmaster. But he was always holed up inside his lab. The room would probably see a lot more use in a few years, when more of the Wards moved in. From what I could remember, none of the Wards had great lives outside of their jobs. We skipped the rest of the floors, and we arrived back on the ground floor. As we stepped out of the elevator, we were greeted by Armsmaster.

"Hello again Ferox. I understand you're here to go through power evaluations and testing?" Armsmaster greeted. His voice was stiff, but still held some warmth. Very little, but some.

"Yup, and I'd like to register as an independent as well if I can. Would make my job a hella lot easier." I replied.

"Very well, we have everything set up for you. We'll be going back to the tenth floor for the initial tests," he said, leading us to the elevator.

We arrived at one of the training rooms we had seen earlier, this seemed to be the least damaged of the lot. There was a large swath of devices set up across the room. A man who looked like the stereotypical mad scientist greeted us as we walked in.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Alexander Anderson, I understand you're here for an evaluation?" he questioned. Huh, is Alucard here somewhere? Maybe in the basement?

"Yeah."

"Wonderful, it's not often we get new data to study. " Dr. Anderson said, finishing calibrations on something. In front of rose a large target with a machine behind it. "We will start with Brute testing. Would you punch that as hard as possible?" I called upon [Vehicular Weaponry] and shifted all my nanites (except for a thin layer around my body), to my right arm. I shifted them into a battering ram with some percussion hammers and pistons to increase the striking power. I threw my fist into the target, a loud clang that rang throughout the room.

"Impressive. Definitely a Brute rating." The Doctor wrote something down, before moving on. The machine sunk into the floor, to be replaced by another.

"We will start with a Mover rating. If you'll get up on this treadmill?" he asked, walking over to the most overengineered treadmill I had ever seen. The belt was several feet above the ground, and it's back faced a cushioned wall and floor, and had something to raise it up so it would be like climbing a hill. I climbed up onto the treadmill and pushed some of my nanites to my legs, making them look like a pile of goop, and made rotating cylinders on the bottom. I placed some [Speed Zones] on the wheels as the treadmill began moving and accelerating at a rapid pace. It reached 81 mph when I wasn't getting any faster. I dismissed the [Speed Zones] and lept of the treadmill. I looked towards the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded. A floating target exited the wall on the other side of the room. "Try and hit the target without moving from that spot."

[Vehicular Weaponry] was still active, and I had an idea. It took a large amount of my nanites, forming a large cannon over my shoulder. The back slammed onto the ground, creating support. A ball of nanites in the shape of a large bullet shot out of the cannon, before twisting into the shape of a drill and piercing the target in the dead center. The drill and the cannon shifted back into liquid and made it back into my body. I heard the scribbling of pen on paper behind me.

The next tests were for physical abilities, like vertical jump, platform jump, hundred meter sprint, flexibility, and coordination. I scored well in all of them (save for flexibility) with the help on my nanites. The next test was for my reflexes. I was taken into a circular chamber, and told to 'not get hit.' The chamber started firing balls of rubber at me, at faster and faster speeds. I called on my schematics for wheels from [Vehicle] around my feet and started to move, skating around the area. I only lasted a minute though, as I had to start wheeling around immediately and had no practice.

The Doctor made a few more notes, and we were onto testing my senses. I had no special upgrades for my sense, so I displayed regular human senses.

"That should be it, but do you mind if I ask a few more questions?" he asked.

"Nope. I don't mind."

"Do you find yourself any more durable than the average person?"

"Yep. I cracked a rib last night and it healed just a few hours ago. I put nanites inside my body to heal quicker and stronger." I said.

"Can you transform your physical body?"

"No, not without my tech."

"Do you believe yourself to have any level of control over other individuals or creatures?"

"Other than my nanites, no." I said.

"Can you affect others' powers, or your own?" I shook my head. Not telling anybody but those I trust about my copying ability. And besides, I'm pretty sure Armsy is going to have a hard time reading me when I locked down my nanites to keep me still.

"Yes, yes. That is all very fascinating. You have given us quite a bit of data to look over Mr. Ferox. In all honesty though, it won't be that useful in understanding powers and where they come from. If you'd be willing to go through a set of scans, we could learn so much more," he offered.

"Actually, I think I have an idea of where the first part comes from," I smiled under my mask, "Whenever I use my power sight on a Cape, I can see a sort of infinite-unfolding cube thing for a second, before it goes back to normal."

The doctor blinked, before starting to scribble on another board. "Was there anything else?"

"Yep. Each parahuman has a general theme with their powers, and my power gives me ideas of what other powers it could be. For example, Armsmaster could have had a Thinker ability that would only let him make an efficient fighter and win with little energy used. It's like each power has a different theme to it. And that's about it." I said, and the doctor stopped scribbling.

"Thank you! This will definitely help a lot. Now, I got a schedule to keep!" he spoke, while making his way out the door. We started to make our way back downstairs. We disembarked at the second floor.

"Hey Assault, could you show me your power? I'm working on kinetic absorbers and releasers, and your powers would help me understand it better." I asked. Assault nodded and I activated Power Sight while we walked to a balcony.

Assault's halo was a bright red with blue lines. The front showed a V with wavy arrows pointing out. Assault threw a rock he had on him (because for some reason he does), and I watched it get thrown out to see.

"Why do you have a rock?"

He smirked.

"Why not! I also have a question for you. What's my power's theme?" I looked at his forehead.

"Energy Manipulation."

"Now, you have a variety of options available to you," Armsmaster started. We'd all moved to a bland meeting-room, where Armsmaster had laid out a set of documents.

"The first option, and one we'd prefer, is for you to join the Protectorate. You would receive a salary, training, facilities, a team to work with, and it's the option that offers the highest life expectancy," he explained.

"It sounds good and all, but I don't really like the restrictions they have on Tinkers. And besides, I've already teamed up with Weaver." I said. He looked like he expected that.

"Yes, Weaver. Could you have her come by for testing?"

"I'll inform her, but it's her decision to make."

"Next, we can offer to make you a PRT Affiliate. The most famous example is Mouse Protector. You'd get paid less, but you wouldn't be required to take orders for anything less than B-class threats, such as the Elite or the Teeth." I thought about it for a second, but in the end I said no.

"Very well, I understand you came here with the intention of registering as an Independent?" he asked.

"That's right."

"So, I'm assuming you know what it entails. You'll get a Protectorate issue phone, and will be able to call for backup if you need it. You'll still be a low priority for deployment, so don't get into bad situations counting on someone to bail you out," he explained. "Also, you'll be required to assist with S-class threats," he finished. I nodded at that, I had already known all of this.

"Yup. Do you have the paperwork?" He pointed at the third stack on the table. An hour later, I was walking back down to shore from the Rig, with a shiny new phone (that I would take apart later) and nigh-indestructible ID (that I would also study later for signs of Armsy.).

It took me a few minutes to get home, and I started to prepare for copying more powers, aka getting into fights with some gangsters.

Honestly, you would think that in a place like Brockton Bay, would could easily find the Nazis, Asian Nazis, or anybody else to bad things, but apparently they were nowhere to be found. Outside, that is. Calling upon my MHA knowledge, I remember that Villains and gangsters are mostly found indoors, away from the public eye. So, I head down the E88 territory (which was really nice damnit,), and peeked indoors with [Mist Shift]. Of course, I wanted to keep a low profile when I was in villain territory, so I turned my costume into a simple grey hoodie and pants, along with glasses to hide my face. I was looking for some fighting rings, as they would definitely have a Cape or two there watching or fighting.

I found one, and I got in pretty easily. My dirty blonde hair and white skin pretty much made me a perfect fit. Pit fights here were fairly organized, as no one wanted to piss off a Cape by fucking around too much. I stood towards the back of the crowd at the beginning, observing the fighters and taking note of the system in place. It was pretty simple. The second someone was out, the first challenger to step into the ring got their shot.

My smirk widened as I saw the new champion. He was a skinny male with blonde hair and grey eyes. The only reason he won was by luck, not strength. I got up and lept down into the ring, my smirk turning into a sharp grin.

Okay, so I changed the ending. next chapter you will see why.

 **Chao!**


End file.
